In reality, the name means Nissan Motorsports International, the brand’s performance division in Japan.

It dates back 50 years to the day the company’s engineers tried to boost sales by dropping a powerful engine into a bog-standard saloon.

Two days later, the car that became the iconic Skyline was on the racetrack – and Nismo was born.

Now, Nissan have brought their performance heritage to Britain – via the Asphalt 7: Heat mobile game on Apple and Android platforms – in the shape of the Juke Nismo.

It is the first in a range of specially tuned models and features an uprated version of Nissan’s 1.6-litre direct injection turbocharged petrol engine, producing 200bhp of punch.

A range of cars benefiting from motorsport DNA and engineering honed on the track will follow, starting with the 370Z Nismo, due for sale later this year.

If the standard, British-built Nissan Juke has a design that sets it apart from other compact crossover cars, the Nismo blows everything else out of the water.

Nissan’s own description of the Juke is a car of two halves.

The lower part is pure SUV, with chunky wheels, wide tyres, extended ground clearance and a robust stance.

But the top half is unadulterated sports car, with a high waistline, slim visor-like side glass graphics and a coupe-style falling roofline.

And the coupe effect is underpinned by rear doors that have handles hidden in the frame of the door, not a new innovation but definitely an effective one.

There’s also an uprated chassis and suspension, with 10 per cent stiffer springs, an aerodynamic body kit with lower front and rear bumpers, wider wings and side skirts, plus a modified grille and tailgate spoiler.

The cabin’s eye-catcher is a motorcycle fuel tank-inspired centre console, with high gloss piano black finish, while a neat touch is the red band to show when the steering wheel is aligned straight.

Of course, it’s one thing looking the part but the looks need to be matched by performance. And, to that end, the six-speed Nismo blasts from 0-62mph in 7.8 seconds, up to a 134mph top speed.

Fuel economy is officially 40.9mpg and the CO2 emissions of 159g/km are the same as the Juke DIG-T on which it is based, despite its extra power.

Customers can choose from a 2WD model with a six-speed manual gearbox, priced £20,395, or 4WD with a continuously variable CVT transmission, with seven-speed manual mode specially tuned for Nismo, at £22,600.